The Unique OpportunityThe Ansel Adams Gallery is thrilled to offer its collectors, friends and fellow art lovers, a chance to participate in a unique opportunity. From time to time on our website, we will be featuring a never-before-printed image from one of our distinguished Gallery artists at a discounted price, prior to its availability within the general market place.
We return with prints from two artists: Anne Larsen & John Sexton. Mr. Sexton first exhibited at The Ansel Adams Gallery at the request of Jeanne Falk Adams about 33 years ago, while Ms. Larsen began her journey with the gallery in 2013. At the same time, The Ansel Adams Gallery is thrilled to host the first exhibition dedicated solely to the work of these two amazing artists, titled “Anne Larsen & John Sexton: Light & Form” currently on view in Yosemite National Park.
Therefore, we celebrate a rich history by offering one of Anne and John’s original prints at a special price. These two prints are Anne’s “Ice Forms, Lake Irwin, Colorado 2004,” and John’s “Frost Covered Boulders, Yosemite National Park, California 1980.” While Ms. Larsen’s prints normally start at $450, and Mr. Sexton’s prints at $1,000, you can now add one to your private collection for 25% off the initial retail price, or $337.50 and $750 respectively. Each print is made by Ms. Larsen or Mr. Sexton, by hand in their darkroom, and printed to current archival standards, signed, as well as mounted, matted and ready for framing. The time to purchase will begin at 9:00 AM Pacific Time on Monday, May 6th, and will expire upon the close of business, Sunday, May 19th at 6:00 PM. Once the offer has expired, we anticipate an order fulfillment time of approximately four to five weeks to ensure the quality of each individual order. This print offer is available for a very limited time, after which, the print will return to full price.
Email our curator, Evan Russel, at evan@anseladams.com if you have any additional questions about the prints or shipping.
The Story of the Images
Ice Forms, Lake Irwin, Colorado
©2004 Anne Larsen. All rights reserved
(text by Anne Larsen)
I am honored to be the most recent addition to the Ansel Adams Gallery distinguished group of represented photographers.
The image Ice Forms, Lake Irwin, Colorado was made on a beautiful spring day. My husband John Sexton and I were camping near Crested Butte, Colorado. John loves maps and that night he was studying one of his many maps from the area. He came across the name Ruby Anthracite Creek and said, "with a name like that there most be a photograph in the area." So the next day, that was the direction we headed.
As is often the case on our photographic trips we make many unplanned stops, detours, and always try to stop whenever either of us feels there might be photographic possibilities in the area. Therefore, it was mid-afternoon when we finally arrived at the exotic sounding Ruby Anthracite Creek. I am sorry to say that the name was more impressive than the little creek that was flowing from Lake Irwin. However what we did not anticipate were the amazing ice forms at the other end of the small, but beautiful, subalpine lake. We quickly abandoned the creek, and with our 4x5 cameras we trudged through the snow toward the ice on the lake.
It was one of those incredible spring afternoons in the high mountains. The lake’s elevation is 10,300 feet, and the thin mountain air was cool–but the heat from the sun was very intense. The melting snow around us was trickling into the lake, and where the sun had already melted through the snow pack and bare ground was showing small wildflowers were beginning to emerge. The little songbirds were expressing their joy, and it was as if the air was filled with expectation.
It was a, most enjoyable, and very productive afternoon. Both John and I made a number of images of the ice, but the image I have chosen for this special print offer is my favorite from that day. I used a Wratten #21 orange filter to darken the blue reflection of the sky in the water as well as to enhance the texture in the ice. I hope that the image conveys the wonderful designs, and excitement, that I found that afternoon at Lake Irwin.
My camera of choice is a 4x5 view camera, but even though I use a large format camera I enjoy the intimacy of a small print. This open edition hand printed silver gelatin, selenium toned print is approximately 5x7" in size, processed to current archival standards, signed, mounted, and matted to 14x17" on 100 percent rag white museum board.
Frost Covered Boulder, Yosemite National Park, California
©1980 John Sexton. All rights reserved
(text by John Sexton)
The image Frost Covered Boulders, Yosemite National Park was made more than three decades ago. When my first book, Quiet Light, was published in 1989 I included this image, as it has always been a favorite. I have never tired of printing this negative over the years and I am pleased to have the opportunity to offer these newly made prints as part of The Ansel Adams Gallery’s program of ongoing unique print offers.
I made this photograph in early December. The sun had set along Wawona Creek at about 5:00 pm in the evening. This interesting arrangement of boulders covered with intensely bright frost seemed as if they were illuminated from within in the diminishing light of dusk. I had made a number of successful images in similar dim lighting situations over the years, and still today always try to continue looking for photographic possibilities until the landscape quietly disappears into darkness. Our eyes respond differently to the world around us in such lighting conditions and so too does film. When I first saw these boulders from some distance away I was immediately and magnetically attracted to them. After organizing the images with my viewing frame, it was apparent that I would need to set up on a sheet of ice. This sounds more dramatic and dangerous than it actually was – as the depth of Wawona Creek at that time was only about eighteen inches! Had the sheet of ice cracked and I had fallen into the water, I likely would have only had to withstand having wet feet. However the ice was thick and there was little chance of any problem.
In such low levels of light it is necessary to give additional exposure to compensate for reciprocity departure. After metering and calculating the necessary exposure increase, the first negative was exposed 1-1/2 minutes at f/16. After making the first exposure I attempted to make a second identical negative. The light had dropped considerably, so the second negative was given 4 minutes at f/16. Amazingly, when viewing the two negatives side-by-side on my light table, they are virtually identical. At that point in my exploration of low light photography, I have to admit it was more luck than skill!
Printing the negative is challenging, as there is considerable contrast difference between the dark foliage behind the boulders and the brilliant frost on the boulders themselves. When I first printed this negative – many years ago – I remember turning on the white lights in the darkroom and being transported back to that cold winter evening and luminous boulders across Wawona Creek. That is a part of the traditional photographic process that I consider to be magic!
This open edition silver gelatin, selenium toned print is approximately 10 x 13-1/4", personally hand printed by me (as are all my prints), processed to current archival standards, signed, mounted, and matted to 16 x 20” on 100 percent rag museum board.
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